Richard Vaughn found guilty of murder

Published: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 04:13 PM.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Richard Vaughn was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison Tuesday evening for first-degree murder in connection with the killing of William Bowen in 2012.

Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore said the jury got the case about 7 p.m. After members asked that a portion of a taped statement in which Vaughn admitted to police that he was among the men who broke into the home be replayed, they resumed deliberations and returned with a guilty verdict shortly after 8 p.m.

Sandstrom, Bowen and four others, including her then-4-month-old twin girls, were inside an apartment on Alder Avenue in Fort Walton Beach about midnight Jan. 26, 2012, when Sandstrom said she heard a noise that sounded like someone trying to kick down the door.

When the pounding subsided, Sandstrom testified she picked up a baseball bat and opened the front door.

Three men who had given up trying to break into the home renewed their assault when they saw the door open, according to Elmore. As the only man in the house, Bowen went after the invaders, who were looking for cash and marijuana.

Sandstrom said she urged two men who were beating Bowen with a baseball bat and a pistol to stop before they killed him.

“Somebody grabbed my throat. I turned my head to shield my face and I heard a cracking noise,” she testified, sobbing. “I thought maybe they had cracked Will’s head, or his ribs. I didn’t see a gun.”

She testified she didn’t realize Bowen had been shot until she stepped on a hot shell casing. By then, the attackers had fled.

Vaughn already was serving consecutive life sentences before Okaloosa County Circuit Judge sentenced him to another life term without the possibility of parole.

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FORT WALTON BEACH — Richard Vaughn was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison Tuesday evening for first-degree murder in connection with the killing of William Bowen in 2012.

Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore said the jury got the case about 7 p.m. After members asked that a portion of a taped statement in which Vaughn admitted to police that he was among the men who broke into the home be replayed, they resumed deliberations and returned with a guilty verdict shortly after 8 p.m.

Sandstrom, Bowen and four others, including her then-4-month-old twin girls, were inside an apartment on Alder Avenue in Fort Walton Beach about midnight Jan. 26, 2012, when Sandstrom said she heard a noise that sounded like someone trying to kick down the door.

When the pounding subsided, Sandstrom testified she picked up a baseball bat and opened the front door.

Three men who had given up trying to break into the home renewed their assault when they saw the door open, according to Elmore. As the only man in the house, Bowen went after the invaders, who were looking for cash and marijuana.

Sandstrom said she urged two men who were beating Bowen with a baseball bat and a pistol to stop before they killed him.

“Somebody grabbed my throat. I turned my head to shield my face and I heard a cracking noise,” she testified, sobbing. “I thought maybe they had cracked Will’s head, or his ribs. I didn’t see a gun.”

She testified she didn’t realize Bowen had been shot until she stepped on a hot shell casing. By then, the attackers had fled.

Vaughn already was serving consecutive life sentences before Okaloosa County Circuit Judge sentenced him to another life term without the possibility of parole.